Odd Blog

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I was tagged once again, this time by Seaempty, CaptainSeagull, and Beeks.




I was supposed to pick up the book I'm reading, turn to page 123, and post the 5th paragraph on my blog. Here it is:

From The Joy of Home Brewing by Charlie Papazian
"The most effective way to introduce the goodness of specialty grains in malt extract brewing is to add the cracked grains to the cold water as it is being brought to a boil. Just before the water comes to a boil, simply use a small kitchen strainer and remove as much as possible without undue fuss. You will find that you can easily remove 80 to 90 percent of the grains. It's that simple! Want something even simpler? Use a grain bag (availabe from your local homebrew supply shop); place your grains in it and use it like a giant teabag."

Thanks for the advice Charlie! "Relax, don't worry, and have a homebrew:beer:"




Now I tag:
Matty P.
Shopping Penguin
Mik Furie
Matta
Lê Thanh Tùng

Just the other day I came upon a bottle of Asbach my mother had set aside a few years ago. I remember that she had tried it and found it to be a little to strong. After digging it back up, I thought I'd try it myself and it was delicious. I tried it again on the rocks with a splash of chamborge and was once again pleased. Since then I vowed to make some of my own brandy; unfortunately, my hopes were dashed:
private distillation of alchohol is illegal in the U.S. and pretty much anywhere outside New Zealand.
After browsing through some literature, I discovered that I can leave the distillation to the professionals by making my brandy with store-bought vodka.
Here is the recipe I found, it's taken from the legendary, purple Winemakers Recipe Handbook by Raymond Massaccesi.


Fruit Brandy

Peach Brandy
2.5 lbs Fresh, Ripe Peaches (Wt. w/o stones)
1.5 cups Sugar
0.5 cups Honey
1/5 btl .80 Vodka

Apricot Brandy
2.0 lbs Fresh, Ripe Apricots (Wt. w/o stones)
1.5 cups Sugar
0.5 cups Honey
1/5 btl .80 Vodka

Cherry Brandy
2.5 lbs Fresh, Pitted Cherries
1.5 cups Sugar
1/5 btl .80 Vodka

Procedure
1. Wash and remove stones and pits.
2. Juice into food-grade plastic container, add sugar and honey. Cover container in plastic, and let sit for 24hrs.
3. Add vodka and let sit for 4-6 months.
4. Strain liquor free of pulp into bottles.

The recipe also mentions that the fruit pulp left over can be used as a syrup on ice-cream and desserts.


Notes
Anyway, I haven't tried this recipe yet (it's hard for a 19 year old to get vodka in the U.S.); when I do, I'll share my results with you.